Port Townsend resident, Marc Weinblatt, shares photos, stories, and personal reflections from his recent (October) trip to Afghanistan. Invited to lead 'Theater of the Oppressed" based community development workshops with a wide range of populations, Marc was privileged to get a uniquely intimate glimpse into the people and politics of one of the world's most complex and controversial hot spots. Afghanistan is much more than the dangerous and repressive images we get from the mainstream media. Burqas, suicide bombs, kidnapping threats, the Taliban - yes. But also courageous activism, warm loving people, and an underground rock band!

This presentation will include a simple history of the region, particularly the last 30 years of war, and include many photos of the landscape, the people, and the theatre work. This event will be fun, educational, and real.

The main goal of the 3-week trip trip was to train people in the use of applied / interactive theatre techniques as a tool for community empowerment and sustainable social change. Working mostly in Kabul but also small towns and villages, Marc led participatory theatre workshops, trainings, and performances with a variety of groups including victims of war and genocide, women, orphans, high school teachers, university students, community activists, and professional actors. Subject matter included women's rights, poverty, underage marriage, suicide bombs, the Taliban, domestic violence, education, as well as a previously unheard of public forum on ethnic tension in Afghanistan. Marc leads similar work nationally and internationally though his organization, the Mandala Center for Change and also locally through PT's own Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble.